Mr. Speaker, in honour of International Women's Week I would like to recognize two extraordinary women in my riding, women who overcame great odds to achieve success.
One is Barbara Binns, a black Jamaican born Canadian who has devoted the last 20 years of her life to improving the lives of women in developing countries and to combating racism in Canada.
She has achieved this by working through CUSO, Canada World Youth, CIDA and the United Nations. When in Vancouver she teaches an anti-racism course at Langara College.
She was recently chosen by OXFAM to be an observer in the upcoming elections in South Africa and was recognized last month by CIDA with an award for her work.
The second woman, Faye, will graduate this year with a B.A. in communications from Simon Fraser University. She is 53, a mother of six children and suffered 17 years of violent, emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her husband. She left penniless and took charge of her children and her own life to achieve this remarkable success.
I salute the courage of these women.